ATSC, ISDB-T, DTMB and QAM-B cable
Updated 27 Oct 2026Besides DVB-S/S2, DVB-C and DVB-T/T2, Castreon receives the digital TV systems used in the Americas and Asia, with any Linux card whose driver supports them:
| System | Where | In the adapter editor |
|---|---|---|
| ATSC (8-VSB) | USA, Canada, Mexico, South Korea | ATSC (8VSB) — North America |
| QAM-B cable (J.83 Annex B) | North-American cable | DVB-C (Annex B) — America |
| ISDB-T | Japan, Brazil and most of South America, Philippines | ISDB-T — Japan, South America |
| DTMB | China, Hong Kong, Cuba and others | DTMB — China |
Available since Castreon 3.0.0, in all editions.
Setting up an adapter
DVB adapters → New adapter → choose the System, then the Frequency. The rest is fixed by the standard or detected by the card:
- ATSC — modulation 8-VSB; no symbol rate or bandwidth.
- QAM-B — QAM 64 or 256; the symbol rate is fixed by the standard.
- ISDB-T — bandwidth 6 MHz by default; all hierarchical layers (A, B and C) are received, so both the full-HD services and the mobile (one-seg) ones appear in the scan.
- DTMB — bandwidth 8 MHz by default; modulation, code rate, guard interval and carrier mode are detected automatically.
Scan works as for DVB: the services appear with their names, and you add them as channels. The transponder monitor also accepts these systems, with 6 MHz steps for a blind scan of the band.
Channel names and guide texts
- ATSC does not carry names in the SDT: Castreon reads the virtual channel table (PSIP — TVCT for terrestrial, CVCT for cable) and uses the major.minor number and the name, for example 7.1 WXYZ-HD. Long names are used when the broadcaster sends them.
- ISDB-T texts are written in ARIB STD-B24 — Japanese (Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana) and alphanumeric characters. Castreon decodes them to normal text for the service list, the channel names and the TV guide. South-American broadcasts that send plain Latin text with accents are read correctly as well.
- DTMB and QAM-B use the usual DVB / MPEG tables.
Good to know
- Check that the card supports the system:
dvb-fe-tool(packagedvb-tools/v4l-utils) lists the delivery systems of each frontend. - TR 101 290 is measured on all these systems. Its priority 3 checks are written for DVB tables (NIT, SDT, EIT); on ATSC, where these come as PSIP, read them as informational.
- Enter the centre frequency of the RF channel in MHz, as listed in your country's channel plan.